Ex-aide to NYC Mayor Eric Adams avoids prison term for soliciting illegal campaign gifts
Nov 18, 2025, 9:41 AM | Updated: 9:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to outgoing New York Mayor Eric Adams was sentenced Tuesday to three years’ probation, including a year of home confinement, for soliciting illegal campaign contributions for Adams.
Mohamed Bahi embraced supporters in a Manhattan federal courtroom after learning that he would be spared prison. His confinement will allow him to leave home for work and attend religious services, among other reasons.
“I’m feeling content that this whole ordeal is over,” he said as he left court.
Bahi served as City Hall’s chief liaison to the Muslim community. He originally was charged as part of a sweeping corruption investigation into Adams — a probe that was ultimately dropped by the Trump administration.
When Judge Dale E. Ho asked a prosecutor Tuesday how to weigh the fact that the mayor had his charges dismissed, there was brief applause from one of Bahi’s dozens of supporters in the gallery.
Bahi, 41, pleaded guilty in August, admitting that he helped solicit illegal donations from employees of a Brooklyn construction company during a December 2020 fundraiser for Adams’ first mayoral campaign.
Bahi was charged in October 2024 with witness tampering and destroying evidence as part of the federal investigation into Adams.
The mayor was charged with accepting bribes and campaign contributions from foreign interests in a separate fundraising scheme. Adams, a Democrat, pleaded not guilty.
The Justice Department in February ordered federal prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams, saying the case interfered with the mayor’s ability to assist in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The surprising development prompted protests and resignations from several top prosecutors, including the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, who accused Adams of striking a quid pro quo deal with Trump.
Adams denied any wrongdoing and ran for reelection as an independent, but ended his campaign early.
Democrat Zohran Mamdani won the election and will succeed Adams on Jan. 1.
